Uber Lost and Found: "Finding Matt Damon"

May 31, 2012

Posted by Alex

Every Saturday and Sunday morning I wake up to a flurry of frantic emails for lost iPhones, keys, wallets and more, and we’re not too shabby at getting those returned. But one “item” a couple weeks ago was certainly unique: his name was Matt Damon.

And no, I’m not talking about movie star Matt Damon… but I’ll let Hannah tell you the story in her own words:

A short while ago, my sister and I had to unexpectedly move out of the house we were staying in. We had to move from one end of DC into Alexandria. Because neither of us had any cash, I decided to use my Uber app. I had yet to use it so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

We happened to be picked up by Babar. He was so sweet and helpful loading our luggage into the car. One of the things that I was taking with me was my Betta fish, named Matt Damon. I was fairly apprehensive about taking him with me in the car because I didn’t want him to be jostled around. My fears were ill-founded though, Babar was a fantastic driver and Matt Damon didn’t get moved around at all. We arrived in Alexandria, collected our things and Babar drove off.

As we were waiting for our friend to let us into the building, I looked down to assess our belongings. As I counted bags and suitcases, I felt a sinking feeling hit my stomach—I had left Matt Damon in the back of the town car. As I pictured my little fish in the back of a car going to who-knows-where, I began tearing up. There was no way I was going to get him back. I frantically tried to contact Babar but didn’t have his phone number. I tried requesting another Uber car in the hopes that Babar was still close enough to come back but that didn’t work. I thought that by the time anyone found him or saw my email, he would be dead.

I moved into my apartment feeling upset and helpless. As if the move wasn’t traumatic enough, I had left my fish in the back of a strange car with no hope of ever seeing him again. I kept checking my email every 10 seconds and must have done this for at least an hour and then I received an email from Uber telling me Matt Damon was safe and Babar wanted to return him to me. Words can’t express how relieved and happy I was to receive this news. I immediately called the number that was provided to me and got in touch with Babar to arrange to have Matt Damon dropped off.

Babar went above and beyond what I would have expected anyone to do in this situation—he even went as far as to put Matt Damon in a vase and feed him and then send me a picture to show me that he was ok. The very next morning, he dropped off Matt Damon at my apartment, safe and sound. I can’t begin to say how grateful Matt Damon and I are to Babar and Uber for being so wonderful in handling this situation.

Huge thanks for the awesome story, Hannah!

Do you have any inspirational Uber stories (lost and found or otherwise)? We’d love to hear them! Don’t hesitate to shoot us your story at supportdc@uber.com, or tell us on Twitter @Uber_DC.